MANILA — The Bureau of Immigration on Friday vowed to reshuffle and cleanse their ranks after authorities discovered that three of their personnel are supposedly involved in human trafficking schemes.

Immigration Spokesperson Dana Sandoval said the current probe will cover those inside and outside the bureau, lamenting that their personnel could have direct links to syndicates in Cambodia and other Asian countries that recruited Filipinos for scams.

• 3 Immigration personnel relieved from post, probed over links to trafficking activities

"Yung ating investigation will not stop doon sa... pangatlong immigration officer. We are looking into how many could be involved in this not just internally but also external kasi 'yung external talaga 'yung nakikita natin as the root cause," Sandoval said in a televised briefing.

"Magkakaroon ng rehuffling sa ating hanay, magpapalit ng ibang tao sa ating paliparan following these incidents," she added.

Sandoval said there would be "no mercy" to be shown to those proven to be involved in human trafficking activities in their agency.

They will not hesitate, she said, to remove immigration officers involved in these schemes.

"Kung may involvement... then their case will be provided to the Department of Justice for the immediate filing of administrative cases against them."

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Senator Risa Hontiveros first exposed the issue of a Chinese mafia in Cambodia supposedly recruiting Filipinos to become cryptocurrency scammers.

One of the victims supposedly reached out to her office to detail how they were promised call center jobs, only to be forced to dupe citizens from other countries of their life savings.

• Another batch of OFWs forced to work as 'crypto scammers': Hontiveros

The exposé came months after Hontiveros also revealed a similar scheme involving Chinese syndicates in Myanmar.

• 'Chinese mafia' recruiting Pinoys as scammers in Myanmar: Hontiveros

The Department of Migrant Workers earlier this year said it is working closely with the justice department on illegal recruitment and trafficking cases reported in Myanmar, Cambodia, and Laos.

• Some Cabinet members to discuss OFW death row cases this week: Ople

The Department of Foreign Affairs said illegal trafficking remained the top challenge in the agency last year.

— with reports from Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News